First Live Tournament: Advice for a Live Newbie? Harrah's NC WSOPC (1 Viewer)

[Taxi500]

As the title says: I'm going to my first live tournaments for a weekend in May at Harrah's Casino in Cherokee NC for some of the low stakes ($4-600) tournaments.

Any advice for a live tournament newbie? I'm a profitable MTT player online but at very low stakes ($5-20). I have no expectation of winning but I have high expectations of having fun.

 

[drdr]

Have fun.
When I started live the first thing I'd do after sitting is to tell the dealer that I was new and may need to be helped/watched. Not completely true since I was an online player. Butt the advantage was some of the other players at the table would underestimate my play.

 

[Taxi500]

Have fun.
When I started live the first thing I'd do after sitting is to tell the dealer that I was new and may need to be helped/watched. Not completely true since I was an online player. Butt the advantage was some of the other players at the table would underestimate my play.

Great advice and yes... I'm very worried about this. Last time I played in a casino it was Blackjack and I had the floor called on me 3 times in less than two hours because I didn't know all the floor rules :/

 

[upNdown]

Just realize that you’ll see far fewer hands than online, so you’ll have to open your range a bit - focus on doing this in position, for obvious reasons.
Do you have live experience at all? Like do you understand things like the single chip rules? If not, or even if you do, it’s still a lot safer to verbalize every action before you act physically.
And like the guy said above, there’s no harm in telling the dealer or even the other players that you’re new to live. I’ve found that with MTT tournament players there’s a whole lot more camaraderie and general friendliness than with live cash players.

 

[Taxi500]

Just realize that you’ll see far fewer hands than online, so you’ll have to open your range a bit - focus on doing this in position, for obvious reasons.
Do you have live experience at all? Like do you understand things like the single chip rules? If not, or even if you do, it’s still a lot safer to verbalize every action before you act physically.
And like the guy said above, there’s no harm in telling the dealer or even the other players that you’re new to live. I’ve found that with MTT tournament players there’s a whole lot more camaraderie and general friendliness than with live cash players.

I actually just learned this rule after being told at our home game that if I Put one chip in it's a call unless verbally stated otherwise. Is that correct?

 

[NotRealNameNoSir]

I actually just learned this rule after being told at our home game that if I Put one chip in it's a call unless verbally stated otherwise. Is that correct?

Yes. Always better to verbalize your bets, then you can do it in several motions or just throw one chip in or whatever you'd like, your first binding action sticks.

Personally I wouldnt tell everyone Im brand new, good players will smell the inexperience but you're inviting even the mouthbreathers to bluff more and try things against you. Many recreational players picture everyone else as an expert unless proven otherwise; dont give em any proof.

Other tips: look left before you bet, especially preflop. People are shockingly obvious especially in tournaments. If they're bad enough, youll be able to tell whos playing and whos not a helpful portion of the time. Online players against live, biggest advantage will be understanding of shove ranges and stack sizes.

Be friendly to the people to your left, get some preferential treatment lol. Cap your cards, especially sitting next to the dealer. Either a few chips or my hand is on my cards when they're live.

Im not an expert, just some live low stakes stuff.

 

[tabletalker7]

My rules for new people.

1. Have fun. Remember that you are there to play a game you enjoy.

2. Tell the dealers you are new. If they know you are new they will remind you when it is your turn to act and you don't look silly just sitting there while the rest of the table gets pissed waiting on you. Besides, the worst thing that happens is that other people find out you are new, but they will figure that out on their own in about 4 seconds anyway so who cares.

3. VERBALIZE ALL ACTION! String betting is not allowed but if you say what you are betting it doesn't matter how many times you go to your chip stack to get it right.

4. NO ALCOHOL! Just play the game. If you drink you will regret plays you made and blame the booze. If the bar has some new drink you can try it after the tournament and not have regrets about the tournament.

 

[upNdown]

4. NO ALCOHOL! Just play the game. If you drink you will regret plays you made and blame the booze. If the bar has some new drink you can try it after the tournament and not have regrets about the tournament.

I would suggest that he plays live like he plays online at home. Whether that means booze, no booze, stoned on edibles or whatever, if that’s your normal poker mindset stick with it.

 

[Taxi500]

I would suggest that he plays live like he plays online at home. Whether that means booze, no booze, stoned on edibles or whatever, if that’s your normal poker mindset stick with it.

So drunk off 15 busch lights screaming about how bad my friends are at poker while they cash out what used to be my money?

 

[Taxi500]

Thank you all so much for this advice. Really appreciate it.

 

[Legend5555]

Honestly, if you play $5-20 tourneys online, then the type of play you experience in the $400-600 WSOPC stuff at Cherokee will feel similar or even easier.

 

[Postoakpoker]

Don't worry, you'll probably be better than 75% of the live players if you play low stakes MTT's.

To add to what others have already said, calculating stack sizes & pot size is probably the biggest transition from online to live.

Try to act the same way each hand as to not give anything away about your hand.

 

[Taghkanic]

If you’re at all uncomfortable, I would register early, get in on the first level, and just fold for a couple orbits, unless you’re dealt some ultra-premium hand in position.

It will cost you almost no meaningful chips, and you’ll get a chance to observe how things are done (and glean some early intel on your table).

 

[upNdown]

Oh, here’s some useful live advice. Be careful with your hands. Any time you tap the table, it’s a check. I used to have a bad habit of doing things with my fingers or tapping chips when I was thinking about how much to raise.
In fact, don’t even be afraid to say “raise” before you actually decide how much to raise.

 

[Taxi500]

Continuing to note all of the advice. I register super late in MTTs because I often can't sit for 6-7 hours during the day online. So I'll be sure to get there on time/within an hour.